Asprin, Robert Lynn – Catwoman – Tiger Hunt (With Lynn Abbey)

“It’s very well done,” the director assured her, picking up the stack again. “Very compelling. Something should certainly be done about this man. But I don’t see where we’re the ones—“

“If we’re not the ones, Tim, then who is? Where do I send these pictures? I have to find someone who’ll take matters into his—or her—own hands. Does somebody have to break into this apartment and do what’s got to be done?”

The director gave Bonnie a sidelong glance and began tapping the paper rhythmically against his palm. “That could only result in negative publicity,” he mumbled. “We could lose money. Can’t do that.” He tapped the papers a few more times before coming to a conclusion he was not about to share with Bonnie—at least not yet. “Can I keep these?” he asked; she nodded. “I’ve got a friend. An old friend; we haven’t talked in years, but he might be able to do something with this. Hang tight, Bonnie. Let me see what I can do here.”

He left the reception area, still bouncing the photos in his hands and muttering to himself. Bonnie uncrossed her folded fingers. They tingled painfully as blood flowed back to her white, numb fingertips.

So Tim had “an old friend” who might be able to help; she had a new friend who could break into any apartment. In an instant she had a warm, fairy-tale vision of a Gotham City where almost everybody knew somebody (or was somebody) who wasn’t what they seemed to be, and everybody who knew a secret, kept that secret the way she’d keep Selina Kyle’s Catwoman secret.